The R. Tucker Thompson

The ship is a gaff-rigged top sail schooner and has a full sail wardrobe of 9 sails. Unlike the sails on modern yachts which are made of dacron, our sails are made of Oceania canvas.

Specifications

The hull is 6mm steel with 3 water-tight bulkheads, a steel deck overlaid with kwila hardwood and 75mm hatch coamings. This gives her immense integrity and strength. She is absolutely dry below. She was built using computer generated calculations for stability and carries a loadline certificate to this effect. She carries 18 tonnes of fixed steel ballast. The interior is a mixture of oregon and kwila with 2 double cabins and 11 single berths. The galley is designed to cater for 16 crew with a gas stove and boiling water on demand. There is a hot shower and 2 hand basins.

The engine is a 180 HP John Deere diesel. The bilge pumping system is connected to each water-tight compartment and is big enough to deliver 20 tonnes per hour out of the ship. She carries sufficient fuel for a 2000 mile range and water for 6 weeks at sea (with careful use). Her navigation equipment includes GPS, radar, Furono depth sounder and we have a Koden HF 4000 radio for long range communication. She carries a 3.8 metre Naiad rescue inflatable with a 25 HP 4-stroke outboard.

The R. Tucker Thompson has a very high reputation in the traditional sailing world and is considered a perfect example of a working tall ship with the advantage of being new and safe. We have carried hundreds of people around the world and around the Pacific, thousands of trainees off the Taitokerau Northland coast, as well as over 140,000 people on day pleasure trips.